Interesting
by Yuri Hannah
Summary: She may be a medical bookworm, but she really can't understand the simple definition of what it means to be "interesting." He probably doesn't know how to use the word either as it surely doesn't apply to her, right? In which we explore the clueless mind of Shiraishi Megumi in figuring out that Aizawa Kosaku might be attracted to her. [Takes place throughout Season 3]
1. Chapter 1

Title: Interesting

Fandom: Code Blue

Pairing: Aizawa/Shiraishi

Summary: Shiraishi may be a medical bookworm, but she can't understand the simple definition of what it means to be "interesting." Aizawa probably doesn't know how to use the word either as it surely doesn't apply to her.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Blue. If I did, Shiraishi and Aizawa would have scenes together every episode throughout Season 3 .

* * *

"You're interesting," was all Aizawa said before leaving her confused in the elevator that day.

 _What was that supposed to mean?_

Shiraishi didn't have time to think too long about Aizawa's vague words. There were piles of work to do and on top of that, she had helicopter duties.

After her shift was finally over, she was hit with the feeling that for the first time in a while, she could finally take a breather. Why? It wasn't like they had less emergency cases than usual today.

"You're still here?"

Shiraishi turned to see her ever so stoic colleague, Aizawa Kosaku. A sudden realization dawned upon her. Of course, no wonder she felt like a huge burden was lifted from her chest, or more specifically, today she really felt Aizawa's presence helped her tremendously.

She gave him a smile, though of course Aizawa had no reaction. "I was just about to leave. Hiyama-sensei must've waited for a while."

She thought that was the end of that conversation, before Aizawa spoke up again. "You're living with Hiyama now?"

"Yeah, her apartment is still in repairs because of the fire and she asked to stay over for a while."

"How long is a while?"

For some reason, Shiraishi was slightly startled at the question. Hm, he was quite talkative today. Or he was just curious of how his old comrades were up to. There wasn't much time for casual talk when Aizawa was still in Neurosurgery.

Ah, suddenly she remembered that the brain surgeon was only around for the summer before going off to Toronto. She wasn't quite sure how skilled his rival was, but it was _Aizawa_. He's had big ambitions ever since she first met him and he had the skills to make his ambitions a reality.

" _I'll do it. I'll get on the helicopter another time and handle many more cases. And faster than anyone else, I'll become a famous doctor."_

It was nine years ago, yet she could still remember the conversation she had with him in that elevator very clearly. Aizawa Kosaku was definitely not someone she could casually refer as "Aizawa-kun" like the first time she talked to him.

From that day, Shiraishi acknowledged him as a doctor, and a somewhat fearful rival. Was she even on the same level as him to be called a rival by him, she wondered at the time. She was quite freaked out by him too. He seemed like he had a cool, stoic expression 24/7, yet when she asked him about how he felt when he performed his first helicopter mission, he had the most expressions she'd ever seen him.

"It was interesting," he said with a smile, and she thought maybe it was better seeing him stoic than him smile whilst talking about how interesting it was amputating a young nineteen year old's arm in the heat on location.

Frankly, she was freaked out.

Of course now, maybe amputations have nothing on what kind of challenges he faces as a brain surgeon. Aizawa always loved a challenge, and perhaps it was true like Hiyama said - brain tissues were the only thing that Aizawa deemed interesting.

" _You're interesting."_

Hm? Was he trying to say that she was challenging? Was it even the same case? Why was she comparing herself to brain tissues? Shiraishi let out a small laugh.

"Shiraishi, didn't you hear me?"

The twenty-nine year old staff leader was brought back to the present time. "Eh?"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

She finally remembered what he asked her. "Ah, how long is Hiyama-sensei staying with me? Probably around a month? I hoped she wouldn't stay so long but it can't be helped." Shiraishi couldn't help but feel embarrassed. What was she doing, laughing out of nowhere?

"I see."

"Well, I'll go back first. Thanks for the hard work."

He only nodded as Shiraishi left in a hurry.

* * *

"This take out doesn't taste good like I thought it would." Hiyama complained. "Shiraishi, next time we should go to Mary Jane's bar. It's been a while since we hung out there together."

"Yeah, next time." Shiraishi replied a bit absent-mindedly.

"I can't stand having to eat anymore of take out."

"You still finished it anyway."

"I can't stand wasting food either."

Shiraishi sighed. "Maybe I should cook then."

"You know how to cook?" Hiyama asked in shock.

"Eh? It's that much of a surprise?"

"Nothing. _Of course_ you know. You're an honor student AND you're also probably aiming to be the perfect wife, aren't you? And you're also staff leader."

Years ago, Shiraishi would've been _slightly_ offended by the "honor student" remark but now it sounded more like Hiyama's own term of endearment for her. Although she couldn't say the same thing about Aizawa.

Not that he ever called her by that remark recently though.

"Perfect wife is a bit too much. I only know a few dishes." If she had the time, she could easily study up more recipes but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

"Hmmm, Shiraishi you could easily be the perfect wife though."

"Ah, we're talking about this again?"

The few times Hiyama and Shiraishi had time to meet up throughout the years after Hiyama had left Shohoku to study perinatal care, most of the time they would talk about work. Or rather, Shiraishi would talk about her patients and work in general, or how things have been going on with Saejima, Fujikawa and Aizawa. Besides that she didn't really have much to share.

Hiyama would talk about how her work was going too, but sometimes she would ask Shiraishi about her non-existent social life. When the flight doctor said she had nothing to share (how unsurprising, Hiyama noticed how uninterested Shiraishi was in anything besides riding the helicopter more than anyone else, being the best flight doctor that would surpass Kuroda-sensei in the future blah blah blah), Hiyama would open up about her social life too.

Shiraishi may not be all that experienced herself in relationships, socializing etc. But she always attentively listened to Hiyama's love troubles over the years.

Now, Hiyama resolved to let love happen naturally, so that she'd find someone who would still love and care for her despite her job.

But sometimes she'd let it slip about how it'd be nice to get married one day. Shiraishi would say it would definitely happen, as "Hiyama-sensei is one of the most loving people I've ever met. You'll find someone."

Then Hiyama would reply that doesn't comfort her considering the few people Shiraishi is acquainted with. She really didn't spend time socializing with people other than her small group of friends (aka Fujikawa, Hiyama, Saejima and maybe Aizawa).

"You're really telling me that you're still not thinking about dating?" Hiyama asked.

"When would I have the time? Especially with Lifesaving being a mess right now. Although I'm thankful Hiyama-sensei and Aizawa-sensei came back for the time being."

"As usual, you're still so boring." Hiyama rolled her eyes but Shiraishi noted her playful tone. "You and Aizawa both."

"Ah! That reminds me."

Hiyama gulped the last of her water. "What is it?"

"Hiyama-sensei, I'm boring aren't I?" Shiraishi asked as if trying to seek confirmation.

Hiyama raised an eyebrow at the random question but answered truthfully. "Absolutely. The few times we make the time to hang out I was the only one really talking. You know, once in a while I'd like to hear YOUR stories and not your patients. And do you even have a hobby besides studying medical books? I guess not. You know, we wouldn't be able to hold a conversation if we both weren't doctors." Hiyama huffed.

Shiraishi smiled sheepishly. "Besides lifesaving, there isn't going on much in my life. I guess you know that now after coming back to Shohoku."

Hiyama sighed. "So, we've confirmed you're super boring. Why'd you ask even though you know?"

The flight doctor frowned in confusion before asking, "Then what do you think it means when someone calls me interesting?"

"Hah?"

"I can't think of anything that makes me seem interesting. No one's ever called me that before. Smart, elite, stiff, annoying, insensitive, maybe but I've never heard interesting before. Interesting is so vague isn't it? In terms of what? Or maybe I'm thinking too much -"

"- you're also talking too much and that's rare, so this must be really confusing you." Hiyama interrupted. "Why are you fretting? Isn't being called interesting a compliment? Just leave it at that."

Shiraishi seemed hesitant at first, but then again, Hiyama was usually right. Aizawa was complimenting her? That made her happy. Hiyama was right; she should leave it at that. Shiraishi knew that despite Aizawa's sharp words, he had a way of encouraging others that undeniably stayed in the heart. She was able to become a commander today thanks to his words.

"Who's the weird one that called you that anyway?"

So someone is weird for calling her interesting? Shiraishi pouted slightly before answering, "Aizawa-sensei."

"HAH?!" Shiraishi slightly jumped at Hiyama's loud response. "Aizawa?! That Aizawa?!" She sounded like she had never heard anything more preposterous in her life.

The staff leader hummed in confirmation. Did she know any other Aizawa?

"Why? Why?" Hiyama kept repeating the same word but Shiraishi only shrugged. Her friend seemed more curious and confused than she was at first.

"Hiyama-sensei, didn't you just say to leave it at that?"

"But this is Aizawa we're talking about; he never says anything that's unnecessary."

True, that was what Shiraishi thought as well. But no matter how much she thought about it, she still came to the conclusion that Aizawa was messing with her because she...didn't really find herself anything but boring. Was this even something to think so deeply about? Not really, for some reason Aizawa felt the need to compliment her so randomly.

After a moment of deep in thought, Shiraishi was interrupted as she heard the sound of a hand smacking on the table and found herself looking at Hiyama's face as if she discovered some kind of revelation. "Eh? What?"

Hiyama was nodding to herself before she smirked. "I totally get it now. Gosh, was I so caught up with my own problems that I didn't notice?"

"Hiyama-sensei, I don't get what you're saying."

The obstetrician rolled her eyes. "Of COURSE you don't notice. Never mind, I'll give you a pass since that guy is usually so straightforward about everything, but this time when it comes you he's choosing to be vague, despite us all knowing that you can be clueless."

Shiraishi frowned in confusion. Hiyama seemed to understand what Aizawa was talking about. "Um, so what part of me is interesting, Hiyama-sensei?"

"Nothing."

"Ehhhh?"

"How would I know? I wasn't the one who called you that." All of a sudden Hiyama had the expression of someone who didn't know anything.

"But you seemed to have some kind of realization just now. What is it?"

"You should ask Aizawa yourself what he meant." Hiyama replied with what was definitely an amused smile followed by a loud yawn. "Well I'm gonna go to sleep first. Good night."

Shiraishi thought deeply again. If what Hiyama was implying was that his "compliment" was vague, then maybe it wasn't important? If it was, Aizawa would have told her clearly what he meant. Would he answer her if she asked if it wasn't something important?

Maybe she shouldn't care but throughout the years they've known each other, if she started up a conversation and he wouldn't reply, she couldn't help but feel dejected and regretted bringing up such a topic.

It was weird, they were friends, right? She shouldn't feel so cautious anymore. And to be honest, unlike when they first met, she and Aizawa were just fine talking about things outside of work. Sure Aizawa could be a little stiff sometimes, but it really depended on what they were talking about.

Like for instance, Aizawa was more talkative when it came to his grandmother. Shiraishi liked hearing him talk about her because she would get to witness him with that rare smile on his face.

She was relieved knowing that there was something (or someone) besides brain surgeries could make him so happy. She'd also like to think the rare times Aizawa would accept Fujikawa's invitation to have lunch together with their little post-Fellowship squad was also a time he might be enjoying himself. There was no smile but surely if he didn't like it, he would not have bothered?

Shiraishi couldn't remember the last time they talked and he would blatantly ignore her.

Yet, she still couldn't bring up the topic of wanting him to come back to Lifesaving at first. And when she finally did, it just sort of slipped. Aizawa's reaction to her slip of the mouth slightly scared her. She didn't want to seem like she was too persistent and annoy him when she knew that once he decided on something, he rarely changed his mind. And at the time, he clearly said he had no plans to return to Lifesaving.

Shiraishi quickly tried to apologize but was surprised that Aizawa did not get mad at her, rather he actually gave her his reasoning for not being able to come back.

"Hmm, I guess I'll just ask him after all. And if he ignores me, just toughen up and leave it at that!" Shiraishi nodded to herself.

Just as she picked up her dishes and left for the kitchen, she realized Hiyama hadn't washed her own dishes. "Ah!"

It was useless.

Hiyama had already fallen asleep on the sofa.

* * *

A/N: I still can't believe we got a Season 3 people. I'm so deep in Shirazawa and S3E1 did nothing but fuel my ship feels even more and got me having high expectations. Do tell me (in a nice way please) if there's OOC-ness and leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to all your wonderful reviews! I'm so glad (so far) you think I got Aizawa right, although it's only gonna be a bigger challenge from now on. And I love all the appreciation towards Shiraishi x Hiyama so happy you guys loved their conversations! I always love hearing these doctors have girl talk ohoho~ Do tell me if I managed to keep them in character! What I want the most from this fic is to be able to picture it happening in the drama. I hope you can too!_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Code Blue._

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

The hospital was always eerily quiet at night, Aizawa quite liked it. Only the sounds of beeping from the machines and the sound of the tapping on keyboards could be heard but even then it was still calm and quiet in the office.

After some time, the sound of a chair being pushed back broke the silence. It was so loud Aizawa couldn't help but feel disturbed as he looked towards the sound. Hiyama was stretching her arms and massaging her shoulders.

They had night duty together, and Aizawa noticed Hiyama also hadn't changed much in the last seven years. Even back then they had zero conversations during night duties and only focused on completing their jobs. Aizawa mostly because he really had nothing to say, and he thought maybe that was also the case for Hiyama.

Seeing his former comrades from their fellow days had Aizawa reminiscing a lot the past few days since his return to Lifesaving. Aizawa never admitted it to them before, but he quite missed their fellowship days. It was a time when he felt like he actually had comrades, that maybe he wasn't as alone as he usually felt. His grandmother said that she was glad he had friends, and honestly he was glad too.

But after they graduated and he transferred to Neurosurgery, he felt like he drifted apart from them. It was definitely not their fault; lifesaving was and always has been so busy. And whenever Aizawa had lunch in the cafeteria, he rarely saw them at the same time.

Aizawa was still unsociable after his transfer to Neurosurgery, and unfortunately there was no one like Fujikawa in that department. Saijo-sensei had praised him numerous of times, often in front of the other doctors. They acknowledged his skills also despite just graduating yet no one really felt like comrades to him. He had already gained the respect and trust of the senior doctors at such a young age, it may have been threatening to others. Everyone seemed like rivals. It didn't help that Aizawa never had the ability to make friends in the first place and the other doctors were quite cold and arrogant like he was.

The only thing that made him happy was really just operations. So much more challenges, strange cases that he heard from foreign countries he thought he might not ever encounter, there was so much _thrill_.

And somehow along the way, he realized that heading over to Lifesaving for consulting gave him some kind of thrill too.

More specifically, a certain thrill that was only felt when Shiraishi called him over.

He didn't quite realize it at the time, but after realizing that, no, it wasn't like the cases he was asked to consult with were all that interesting. Yes, there were a few cases that really challenged his abilities but the majority of them he'd seen it a thousand times.

It was the thrilling sight of Shiraishi working sincerely, giving it her all trying to save a life.

And by the end of it all, the current staff leader of Shohoku's Lifesaving team would _always_ express her gratitude. Every time she would say thank you to even the most minor things that he helped her with, his heart would skip a beat.

Of course he didn't show how affected he was and would always give her the same response.

 _"Ah."_

 _"I just did my job."_

 _"You can call me anytime."_

They didn't have much time to talk outside of work, so Aizawa gradually realized how much he treasured the few conversations they managed to have together. And obviously when they did have time to have more casual and personal conversations, (usually only during lunch), he realized how light-hearted and comfortable he felt. In the midst of their busy, hectic lives, when he had time to have join Shiraishi for lunch, he actually felt peaceful (even if Fujikawa joined in too and was as loud as ever).

It wasn't hard to piece what he felt for that clueless honor student.

But to tell the woman herself is a different matter entirely.

"So, Aizawa, why did it take you so long to say 'yes' to Shiraishi?" Hiyama broke the silence of the night.

Aizawa looked up from his desk and was greeted with the sight of a smirking Hiyama. "What are you talking about?" He asked as his eyes turned back to the sight of the documents on his desk.

"For someone who was so determined not to have any plans to come back to Lifesaving, you changed your mind pretty fast."

"..."

"Telling Shiraishi to convince you was the best idea after all. You always listened to her better than anyone else. Guess that hasn't changed since 9 years ago."

Aizawa paused.

So, Hiyama was the reason Shiraishi asked him?

"What are you trying to say?" Aizawa didn't realize his voice became slightly rougher.

"I knew Shiraishi would find a way to convince you to come back, but mostly because I trust her persuasion skills –"

" – I didn't come back because she asked me to." Aizawa responded. It wasn't a lie. Maybe. Shiraishi gave him a choice, and he chose Lifesaving.

Then again, he probably would've caved in even if she didn't leave the choice to him, especially after seeing her struggle so much on location.

"It's for Toronto." He had no major reason to explain to Hiyama, but there was no reason she needed to know the second reason.

Hiyama raised an eyebrow, not convinced.

"So that's the excuse you gave Shiraishi? Well, it sounds believable somewhat, that clueless Shiraishi would believe it 100%."

Shiraishi really didn't tell Hiyama at all why he came back. More specifically the second reason.

" _In lifesaving, you are here."_

 _Did she forget or something?_

Aizawa wanted to face palm. For some reason he was sure she forgot. It wasn't important enough for her to remember.

"But I only think there's one major reason." Hiyama challenged.

Aizawa returned her challenge with a stare of his own.

"You can't deny Shiraishi."

It wasn't a question.

"You like her."

Aizawa didn't say anything. He was somewhat prepared for this moment – where anyone BUT the woman in question confronted him about what he felt for the clueless staff leader. Still, he hoped that Hiyama wouldn't be the first to confront him about it, but it was inevitable if she moved in with Shiraishi.

But he supposed Hiyama was better than Fujikawa finding out first.

"Uwa! You're not even denying it." Hiyama made a face. "I hate that you're still pretending to be cool even after I've caught you red-handed. The Aizawa I knew who was always so selfish actually came back to help poor Shiraishi, it's really touching." Hiyama teased.

"What do you want?" He wanted her to get it over with.

"Are you serious?"

Was she seriously asking this question? Did he look like the type to joke? When was he NOT serious about anything?

"I'm asking because you're obviously aiming to go to Toronto. What, are you gonna pack up and just leave without telling her? Or are you gonna tell her but then leave right after that? Which is it? We all know you're going to Toronto regardless. And even if you somehow get together with Shiraishi, she'd never let you to let go of Toronto."

Aizawa paused. Picturing being together with Shiraishi almost made him smile and Aizawa agreed that Shiraishi would be that understanding and prioritize his dream over anything else.

Obviously he had to tell her first. There was no way he could just leave her clueless about his feelings and possibly being snatched away by some other guy at any second. His face unconsciously soured remembering the few conversations he'd heard over the years. In the elevators, in the locker rooms, at the cafeteria – for some reason rumors about some guy wanting to confess to Shiraishi always reached his ears.

Even after Aizawa left Lifesaving, they talked about personal stuff (not that either of them really had a personal life). It only happened once in a while though.

But never anything like...relationships, romance. Usually Aizawa was rarely curious about anything outside of operations. But this concerned his (special) friend, and when he was curious he would try to find out.

 _Are you dating someone?_

 _I heard there's a guy that confessed to you. What was your answer?_

And when Shiraishi would answer "No" he couldn't deny the absolute relief he felt.

While they had conversations similar to that a few times in the past, it was still rare. In the same way he rarely talked to her about such things, she rarely talked to him about it either. He wondered if she talked to Hiyama about such things often.

"It's none of your business."

Hiyama scoffed. "You think you're in a position to not answer me? I'm concerned for the happiness of my dear friend; of course it's my business. If you're serious, I might even root for you and help you out. Isn't it the best choice to just answer me?"

She had a point.

"I'm always serious. About Toronto, about her." Was all he said.

He was greedy. He wasn't going to let Shiraishi slip away from him, but there was no way he was letting Shinkai win over him either. Was it okay to be this greedy?

Hiyama sighed. "Long distance, huh?"

Aizawa couldn't say anything to that. That was really the only way they could ever have a relationship if he succeeded going to Toronto.

Which he will. He was sure of it.

The one thing he was insecure about however was Shiraishi having any feelings for him beyond camaraderie.

"Well there's no way in hell I'm letting you go to Toronto without telling her first. So now that I know, this better be your option."

"So, you think I have a chance?"

As much as Aizawa pretended to be cool about everything, (okay, maybe he wasn't pretending, he actually WAS cool about everything), Hiyama knew this wasn't the case. As much as he was trying to hide it, Aizawa was really insecure about this. If he wasn't, he would never ask her such a question in the first place. If she wasn't at a different workplace for several years now, maybe she would've noticed it much earlier.

That Aizawa and Shiraishi over the years had something special. Maybe it was always there.

Aizawa might think so, but did she?

As sharp as Hiyama was, she honestly had no clue about Shiraishi's feelings. Shiraishi always wore her feelings on her sleeve, so if Hiyama didn't notice anything from her, didn't this mean Shiraishi didn't have feelings for him (or for anyone) at the moment? Her friend never really seemed interested when talking about dating.

Aizawa noticed Hiyama's slightly doubtful face but did his best to hide his disappointment.

"Well, you know Shiraishi! She hasn't really changed, never notices the air around her, clueless as ever. Make it clear to her somehow, and she might think differently!" Hiyama nervously laughed.

Come to think of it, was Aizawa even Shiraishi's type anyway? Hiyama did remember one conversation they had once back when they were younger. She told Shiraishi about her parents setting up an arranged meeting but none of the guys were her type. And naturally Hiyama asked her about it.

" _Hm, I've never really thought about it."_

" _Seriously? Ugh how can you think of nothing besides feeding your medical geek-ness?"_

 _Shiraishi pouted at that. Then she thought for a few moments before replying, "Hm...someone nice and warm?"_

" _Idiot, that's obvious. Everyone wants someone nice to them."_

" _Ah, you're right. Sorry, I'm not sure."_

Hiyama had rolled her eyes and didn't ask further. But seeing Aizawa possibly insecure about all this is a little bit disturbing.

She should ask soon.

* * *

A week passed and Hiyama was thinking if Aizawa had given up.

A day in lifesaving continued being hectic but with Aizawa around, it seemed like the atmosphere was worse than usual. There wasn't a day where Aizawa and Shiraishi weren't throwing sarcastic remarks at each other.

Not only the fellows were frustrating the hell out of Hiyama for their lack of usefulness, but now Aizawa added onto that by dismissing and clashing with everything Shiraishi said to him.

They were starting to resemble more and more like an old married couple, Hiyama scoffed at the thought.

At this point, Hiyama didn't even bother to try to intervene. Every time Fujikawa turned to her and tried to signal her into doing something, she would ignore him or mentally tell him to leave them alone too.

Shiraishi was getting more frustrated with Aizawa by the day. And when Shiraishi got angry, it wasn't a pretty sight. Hiyama could tell Shiraishi had all this pent up frustration and she was worried if Shiraishi was going to let it all out on them.

"That's right! He's always been like that, hasn't he?!" Shiraishi slammed the table in frustration.

Both Hiyama and Fujikawa jumped at the sound. Fujikawa was beyond freaked and if Hiyama wasn't a little freaked out like he was, she would probably be laughing at the look on his face. That was probably Shiraishi letting out just a _tiny_ bit of her anger. Who knows what would happen if she exploded.

Was Aizawa purposely doing this or something?

He better have a good plan on wooing Shiraishi in private if he was intent on leaving her frustrated in work affairs.

"If they keep fighting like an old married couple, I'm going to lose my mind." Hiyama said as soon as Shiraishi left her desk.

Fujikawa laughed. "Couple? And those two in the same sentence? That's a good one."

Hiyama scoffed. "Yeah, that's what we all thought when it was you and Saejima, and looked how that turned out. Truly hell froze over and we're all going without having to worry about getting burned for eternity."

"Hey!"

Hiyama shrugged.

"You're just mad that your little theory of us getting together was impossible was completely wrong and you hate being wrong." Fujikawa countered.

"I hope I'm wrong this time too." Hiyama muttered in a small voice, but Fujikawa heard it.

"About who?"

Oops.

"No one. Well I gotta go check up on Sugawara-san, bye." Hiyama hurried and left Fujikawa confused.

* * *

 _Ignore him, ignore him._

Shiraishi chanted in her mind. She took a deep breath and relaxed. There was no point in getting angry. When did a heated argument with Aizawa ever turn out well? None.

Not that they often had heated arguments.

In general, Shiraishi never liked arguing at all. It took too much energy, and she needed the little energy she saved up every day for more important things besides arguing with someone as stubborn as Aizawa. Nothing ever got into that arrogant, rude mind of his if she tried to force her views on him that obviously differed too much from his.

Would it kill him to listen and understand what she had to say for once? They've known each other for 9 years and it had always been _her_ that tried to understand _him_ if they had a minor squabble. She would apologize first and he'd only apologize after that (but ONLY if she apologized first)? Shiraishi could be stubborn if she wanted, and if she didn't apologize, they would go for weeks without talking to each other. And then somehow they would be okay again with a silent mutual apology when both have calmed down.

But the fact of the matter is, Aizawa rarely apologized first and it made her frustrated. Why was he so intent on tearing down the fellows' confidence? Would he like it if someone did it to him? Then again, Aizawa never let anyone tear down his confidence like that, which was why he wouldn't understand.

Aizawa's nasty attitude started bearing their fangs the second day he returned to Lifesaving, leaving Shiraishi frustrated and completely forgetting about his random "interesting" compliment.

"Shiraishi, let's go for lunch." Hiyama hollered. Shiraishi smiled, hoping lunch with Hiyama would make her forget and followed suit.

* * *

At the cafeteria, the female doctors were talking about a 17-year old girl's pregnancy when suddenly Fujikawa started sighing loudly, obviously wanting them to ask.

Then he dropped the bomb.

Hiyama and Shiraishi were more than surprised. But they didn't notice Aizawa at another table close to them probably just as shocked as them. Or even more than they were.

Ice queen Saejima was actually pregnant.

With _Fujikawa's_ child no less.

That was enough to freak out someone who didn't even know the resident ice queen and Lifesaving's moodmaker were actually in a _romantic_ relationship.

So after lunch (they actually got through lunch without any emergency cases interrupting them!) Aizawa wanted to get rid of his curiosity and ask to make sure, even though it should have been obvious with Hiyama throwing out the possibility that Saejima might break up with Fujikawa if she found out he spilled such an important secret to his colleagues before asking her first.

Basically, Fujikawa was an idiot.

"Is it okay if I confirm something?" Aizawa asked. Fujikawa, Hiyama and Shiraishi all turned their heads to him at the same time. "Are you two dating?"

"Huh?" Fujikawa gaped.

"That's what you're asking?" Shiraishi wasn't the only clueless one, Hiyama thought. Seriously, this guy.

Shiraishi on the other hand thought maybe it was best to stay quiet. Well it couldn't be helped he didn't know. Aizawa was so absorbed in his work, and he rarely ever came to join them for lunch for casual chatter, unless Fujikawa or Shiraishi invited (or persisted) him to join.

Aizawa stood there looking so awkward, it was quite hilarious so Shiraishi couldn't help but let out a laugh. It actually made her forget about their arguments this morning. She would probably be angry again the next day, but for now seeing Aizawa so out of his element brought out her laughter.

Fujikawa followed suit along with Hiyama. They probably would have captured this moment on a camera if Aizawa's clenching fist wasn't a sign he was moving out of the awkward zone and into the irritated zone. Fujikawa and Hiyama both stopped snickering but Shiraishi still had a teasing smile on her face.

"Aizawa-sensei can be pretty clueless too, huh?"

She didn't notice Hiyama and Fujikawa signaling for her to stop.

"I don't want to hear that from _you_." Aizawa fired back, definitely annoyed that she wasn't getting the hint but not enough to be completely angry because _look at that smile –_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown.

Aizawa clicked his tongue and quickly exited the elevator, leaving Shiraishi confused once again but she quickly followed suit to avoid colliding with the elevator doors.

Hiyama let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Was Shiraishi drunk or something? She was usually only brave to tease Aizawa only if she was drunk and her honest side would come out.

"...So what _did_ Aizawa mean?" Fujikawa asked. Hiyama rolled her eyes and narrowly exited the elevator.

Fujikawa tried to catch up but ended up walking face first into the elevator's closed doors.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm not very confident with this chapter tbh especially because Aizawa's thoughts are difficult. Oh and if somehow in the upcoming episodes, the writer creates a scene where Hiyama or Fujikawa finding out about Aizawa's feelings, then this fic won't follow the canon storyline. For now, I'm keeping Fujikawa in the dark coz I feel like if he knew, he'd be vocal about it, but so far we're not getting any scenes of Fujikawa teasing Aizawa like he did in Season 2._

 _Do leave reviews/constructive criticism!_

 _Next up, Shinkai's appearance! I've been dying to write about him ever since he suddenly became a potential love rival and not just Toronto rival :P_


	3. Chapter 3

_a/n: thank you all for your wonderful reviews! seriously if it weren't for them, i would be so insecure to post anything OTL. anyways, i managed to include two behind the scenes from episode 3 lol_

 _disclaimer: I don't own Code Blue._

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

* * *

Aizawa couldn't play it cool when he saw his two colleagues right there at Oyama Tsu - _Mary Jane's_ bar. Not only was he just _kissed_ now, but he even had witnesses and it just _had_ to be Shiraishi and Hiyama. They looked happy to see him there, but no way was he going to stay after what just happened.

Especially with Hiyama giving him that teasing smile.

He knew he was going to regret not denying her claims of his...interest in their medical geek friend right there.

But of course his escape was a failure when both Mary Jane and Hiyama pulled him back.

For some reason the brain surgeon felt slightly embarrassed as he glanced at her pleased smile while clapping at his (reluctant) return.

 _Cute._

He needed to bang his head on a table or something, but he settled for sliding his hands over his face to hide how flustered he was.

Was she already drunk or was she genuinely happy he was there?

He didn't know, but seeing her carefree smile after all the arguing they had the past week since his return to Lifesaving relieved him. And he was glad that she realized that his "bad mouth" didn't mean he wasn't trying to raise the Fellowship members like she was too. They had different ways of doing it, and that should be fine.

And maybe Shiraishi would stop giving him a hard time if he gave praises to those newbies every now and then – only when they deserved it of course.

" _That time when Kuroda-sensei told me, 'you did well', I was really happy."_

He wondered how many times Shiraishi was reminded of Kuroda-sensei in a day - probably a lot, he knew she could never really forget that tragic accident nine years ago.

 _Did he...remind her of Kuroda?_

At some point he didn't realize time flew by as he quietly listened to Hiyama and Shiraishi's conversation with Mary Jane. Shiraishi started happily teasing his "shy" personality (uh... _no_ ) but he let it slide as the woman was...cute.

"He can only say things bluntly, right~"

 _When it comes to you, maybe not bluntly enough,_ Aizawa thought as he took another sip of his drink.

"He's also a grandma's boy." Shiraishi giggled.

 _This woman..._

Then Hiyama just _had_ to point out Amano Kanade.

He didn't mean for the mood to get so depressing, especially it had been the most he'd seen Shiraishi smile in a while (he didn't really help as she was frustrated with him for the past week) but he thought they should know about her condition before assuming Amano Kanade was a perfect being.

It reminded him of the times people would assume that Aizawa Kousaku was a perfect human, successful, skilled doctor that had gone through no problems in life.

It reminded him of when he assumed that Shiraishi was just an elite, spoilt princess that had never gone through anything in life, a hypocrite that claimed to have pure intentions about introducing Dr. Heli but actually just came to Shohoku because she was just as competitive as him and thought about taking on as many interesting cases as possible like him.

In reality, she only came because of the high expectations people had of her, not that she really wanted to - unlike him, Hiyama and Fujikawa. And he had to find out he misunderstood her all this time after Kuroda-sensei had basically told them how much he regretted meeting all of them.

" _That kind of person shouldn't have come here! I shouldn't have come here!"_

A life without ever possibly meeting Shiraishi...he never wanted her to say anything like that again.

"I'll get the car!" Hiyama quickly snatched the car keys just as Shiraishi took them out.

"Hey! It's my car!" Shiraishi whined, slightly drunk.

"You don't think I'll let you drive when you're drunk, right? It's fine, its fine! I'll bring the car so just wait a bit! Aizawa, take care of her for a while."

Aizawa didn't react, but Hiyama knew he would watch her friend regardless and walked out of the snack bar. He glanced to his side noticing that Shiraishi was being quieter than usual, which was strange considering her slight drunken state.

She was staring at him, her nose a little wrinkled, her face slightly flushed, her large eyes worried.

It was never good to have direct eye contact with Shiraishi for a long time. It did _things_ to his heart.

He glanced back to his front as quick as lightning but still asked, "What?"

"This girl..."Shiraishi began as her fingers touched the photo of Amano Kanade on the magazine, "you must be really worried for her."

He didn't have to respond to that, it was just Shiraishi's observation.

"I'm really sorry."

Her voice was small, but it was quiet in the bar so Aizawa easily heard it. "What for?"

"Amano Kanade-san was your patient before you returned to Lifesaving, right? She must be really sad because I asked you to come back."

 _So she_ does _realize he came back for her_ , but Aizawa couldn't dwell on it because of the depressed tone Shiraishi was using.

"I haven't actually left Neurosurgery. There's no reason for her to be sad. I'm still checking up on her."

Shiraishi gave a sad smile and she stared at the drink in her hand. "Nope, she must be really sad. Like I did."

 _Huh?_

"You didn't realize, huh? Eh~ Maybe I should add 'clueless' along with your shy and blunt personality." Shiraishi said amused but Aizawa was only quietly waiting for her to continue what she meant. "I was really sad when you left Lifesaving all those years ago, you know?"

No, he didn't know.

"But Hiyama-sensei and Fujikawa-sensei were sure you'd rotate back into Lifesaving and that relieved me somewhat. But in the end, you stayed in Neurosurgery."

Was this supposed to mean something?

"It was really hard for me to ask you to come back; I knew you've always been more excited when we received patients with brain trauma during our Fellowship days. It wasn't a surprise you had no intention to come back to Lifesaving. But when I finally managed to blurt out that I needed your help, you said something about Toronto."

Aizawa could only quietly listen to her honest confession. Maybe he should stop her, she was getting all sad and he never liked a sad Shiraishi.

But Shiraishi continued. "When I saw you strolling in the meeting room, you hadn't even done anything yet I felt a huge burden lift from my chest. Maybe I depend on you too much, huh? Ever since we met, whether you wanted to or not, I think I was always saved by you."

The urge to hug Shiraishi right then and there was too strong. But he didn't. Instead he unconsciously rubbed his fingers along his eyebrows. "I didn't do much."

Shiraishi made a dismissive hand gesture. "Nope, you did. And gradually, the more I looked at you, the guiltier I felt."

 _Wait, what?_

He hated that it ever came across his mind, but he truly thought she was...going to confess her love or something.

Ugh, he was getting so mushy.

"If I didn't cause Kuroda-sensei to lose his arm all those years ago, you wouldn't have had to be the one to amputate his arm. I never really apologized for that, have I?"

A wave of surprise hit Aizawa but it quickly turned into slight irritation. "You had enough to be guilty about, I was only performing treatment to save his life, and I did. You don't have to apologize. It was years ago."

But his words didn't erase the sad smile on her face. "I had every reason to feel guilty back then, and even though your reason for coming back to Shohoku is to appeal for Toronto, I still can't help but feel like I took you away from your patient that needs you."

Why did she _always_ feel like she had to take responsibility for everything? "You asked me to come back once and I refused. I thought about it some more, about Toronto and I accepted." He answered, his tone firm. "As usual, you always worry about useless things. And like I said, I still check up on her every once in a while."

"Or she comes to visit you~" Shiraishi teased before letting out a hiccup. "She must really like you! Aren't you happy~" Aizawa only gave her a bland reaction before Shiraishi stared sadly at her empty glass. "I'm actually a bit jealous too."

What.

WHAT?

Aizawa dared to ask. "Of who?"

She only gave a small pout and pointed towards Amano Kanade's picture on the cover of the magazine.

Before the resident Ice King could ask further what she meant by that, a loud, _annoying_ voice boomed in the quiet snack bar. "Sorry I took too long! Ah –" Hiyama snickered at Aizawa's clenched fists. He was obviously annoyed. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Go home."

* * *

A few years after his departure from Lifesaving, Aizawa had to have the unfortunate experience of meeting a surgeon that rivaled his own skills.

It wasn't that he didn't like a challenge - transferring to Shohoku and meeting Shiraishi whom he acknowledged was a worthy rival from the moment she beat him into answering Kuroda-sensei, as well as her detailed explanation of a man who fell down from a few floors to Saijo-sensei, boosted his competitive spirit.

So it didn't take too long for him to acknowledge that Shinkai Hiroki was a major force to be reckoned with.

But unlike Shiraishi whom he found out was not all caught up with trying to beat someone out like he and Hiyama was, or Fujikawa who at the time was all talk but no skills, he thought Shinkai on first meeting was the worst kind of rival.

His competitive spirit rivaled his own, and Shinkai bragged about his success akin to Fujikawa but _actually_ having the skills to back it up, which made it even more irritating.

Of course, Aizawa Kosaku always kept his cool. It didn't take much effort either. Plus, with his return to Lifesaving and handling a lot more cases than Shinkai ever could, he was 100% confident that he would be the one to fly to Toronto in the end.

But brain surgeries were totally different from matters of the heart. And unfortunately Shinkai found his weak spot and was quick to challenge it.

He really was the worst kind of rival.

"How is Aizawa? He's not causing any trouble in Lifesaving, is he?" Shinkai casually asked.

There was no one other than the three of them in the elevator, and Aizawa sure as hell was going to ignore anything this guy said outside of work-related matters, so the only one Shinkai was referring to had to be Shiraishi.

"We're having trouble with his bad mouth, but then again, he's been like that ever since." Shiraishi answered, almost as if she was used to talking about his personality like that. Why was she even talking to this guy? He refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Somehow I get the feeling you two know each other so well."

Was this guy trying to imply something? Their conversation was getting hard to ignore. But as curious as Aizawa was of Shiraishi's answer, he succeeded on keeping a straight face and not looking over in her direction.

"It's only because we've known each other for a long time." From the corner of his eye, Aizawa could see Shiraishi giving a polite smile before facing towards the elevator doors again.

 _That was it?_ What was with that answer? It sounded so... _normal_.

She also knew Fujikawa for the same amount of time, but she wasn't confessing to _him_ about getting _jealous_ over Saejima! He wasn't sure whether Shiraishi remembered her little drunk confession, but she wasn't even that drunk? Surely she remembered?

He was thinking too much. Time to cool down.

But his thoughts betrayed his actions as his arms tightened across his chest.

 _Ding!_

Shinkai was _finally_ leaving the damn elevator. But before Aizawa could relax the stiffness in his body, his rival dropped the bomb.

"Shiraishi-sensei, would you like to have a meal with me next time?"

Aizawa didn't realize his jaws tightened, his body becoming even more stiff than it usually was.

 _What the hell_.

"Eh?"

"I will listen to your complaints about Aizawa."

Aizawa wasn't looking in Shinkai's direction but he just KNEW that the latter had that irritating, _smug_ smile on his face.

He was suddenly reminded of when Saijo-sensei first introduced Shinkai to the Neurosurgery department – the female doctors and nurses practically _fawned_ over Shinkai. Apparently he had the looks, the skills, and the 'approachable, friendly' personality – something Aizawa lacked.

Not that Aizawa really cared about what anybody thought – especially a bunch of nurses that had nothing better to do than to gossip during breaks.

But he accepted a long time ago that he _did_ care about what Shiraishi thought of him - albeit reluctantly at the time.

"I wonder what that was about just now." The woman standing next to him said, clueless.

His response was immediate. "It is what it is, right? He's asking you out."

Images of Shiraishi and Shinkai getting along, Shiraishi smiling and falling for Shinkai's so-called "friendly charms" during a dinner date flashed through his mind in a split second.

Aizawa stalked out of the elevator, feeling stupid that he built hope _maybe_ Shiraishi had some special feelings for him too after her slight drunken confession (if he could really call it that) the other night. The urge to sulk and not speak to her for a while came out of nowhere.

He couldn't remember how he dealt with something similar to this in the past.

To put it simply, Shiraishi Megumi was a beautiful girl.

It wasn't something he had dwelled on when they first met, but it wasn't like Aizawa was blind and didn't notice it at first sight. He just simply acknowledged the rumors that surrounded Professor Shiraishi Hirofumi's daughter who he heard was also applying for flight doctor training at Shohoku.

Sure, she was pretty, but what he really interested in was if she had the skills people seemed to be hyping up about. She could be all 'image' with no guts or skills whatsoever.

However, Shiraishi had proved herself to be more than just a pretty face with an honor student image, and became the most loyal member of Shohoku's Lifesaving.

But strangely enough, Shiraishi didn't realize how...popular she was. And not as the late Shiraishi Hirofumi's daughter either. Thanks to her clueless, insensitive, poor-at-reading-the-atmosphere personality that had not changed even after _nine_ years, as well as her indifference to anything besides being the best flight doctor, Aizawa didn't have to hear rumors about "the cute one of Lifesaving" accepting some guy's invitation to dinner.

That personality of hers was relieving, endearing yet _frustrating_.

Still, Aizawa wasn't prepared for his Toronto rival to not miss a chance at irritating him by asking out Shiraishi right in front of him. Where did Shinkai's sudden interest in Shiraishi even come from, anyway?

He better not be seriously interested in her. But from the way that annoying guy was eyeing her... _shit_.

But Shiraishi wouldn't positively respond to this guy's advances, right? Aizawa realized he was being utterly childish, but the urge to avoid seeing Shiraishi for a while was strong.

It didn't last long though as the Lifesaving team faced a major unfortunate event that day.

* * *

" _...Haitani...and Shiraishi...are also experiencing symptoms of nausea and vertigo."_

A cyanide poison break out occurred and the whole hospital was hectic. Any trivial matters were forgotten and all anyone could think about was whether or not the victims of the cyanide poison could survive.

It was already quite late into the night. At the staff station, Shiraishi eventually realized she was just staring into her laptop, not quite caring about her vision occasionally being out of focus.

 _Saejima-san, please be okay._

"Shiraishi."

A low voice startled the staff leader and she turned around to find Aizawa standing right behind her. "Ah! Aizawa-sensei!"

"Are you okay?"

Shiraishi nodded. "What about you? It must've been tough today." It wasn't often they had a case of poison contamination after all. "I'm supposed to be staff leader yet today you were leading the team the most."

"I wasn't the one exposed to poison. Worry about yourself." He handed over a gray sweater. "Here."

"Eh?"

"Take it, you're cold aren't you?"

Oh, she didn't even realize she had her arms crossed over her chest due to the chill. She took a number of showers today for precaution. "Thank you." She smiled gratefully as she put on the sweater.

 _Ah, it smelled like Aizawa-sensei._

"Go and rest up if you're just going to stare into nothingness." Aizawa said, glancing at her laptop. Somehow he knew she wasn't getting much work done.

"I can't relax. Aizawa-sensei too, right?" He didn't react, but Shiraishi knew he was just as worried as they were. "Saejima-san, I really hope she'll be okay."

"Fujikawa's with her."

Aizawa was not one to lie; he did not make wishful promises like "you'll be fine" to his patients especially if he was uncertain with the results himself.

Shiraishi knew that, yet for some reason, she thought maybe him telling her that Fujikawa was by Saejima's side, was his way of reassuring that they will be okay somehow. If they were together, maybe they could believe in a miracle.

 _So, you don't have to worry too much and get some rest._

"I see."

But sometimes, Aizawa didn't know how to take his own advice. They both couldn't sleep that night.

* * *

 _a/n: i don't care what anyone says, that gray sweater shiraishi wore didn't look like it was something she owned, and someone suggested to me it could be aizawa's and i'm like OMG ASDHAKSDASD mY HEART_

 _next chapter hopefully should be faster, since initially this chapter was 5k words but I split it coz the next part seemed like it suits being between S3E3 and S3E4 more. and i'm gonna try and break down shiraishi's "i heard from shinkai-sensei" like tf you already had that meal with him? that was fast af damn shinkai if aizawa wasn't upset about kanade (ugh) he would have totally reacted._

 _reviews/constructive criticism/just plain fangirling/keyboard smashing/anything is always loved and appreciated!_


End file.
